The CCTV footage highlights an incident in the city of Auckland from earlier this year “where a male was violently ill and could barely stand after smoking synthetic cannabis,” the police department said.

“We have grave concerns as users don’t know what poisonous chemicals they are potentially putting into their bodies when they’re smoking this drug,” said Detective Inspector Gary Lendrum.

The area’s police department and the chief coroner have issued the warning following at least seven deaths in July in Auckland that “appear” to be linked to the use of the drug, officials said.

“It is a dangerous, illegal substance and we will arrest those who are selling this harmful drug and place them before the Courts,” Lendrum said in his plea to the public to notify cops “if they know who are selling these drugs.”

“Tests conducted of the synthetic cannabis itself have shown that it can be very dangerous, with the possibility that some products can also be laced with other unknown chemicals,” Lendrum said.

He added: “This is not an issue unique to Auckland. Police are also concerned at the impact of synthetic cannabis in other communities in New Zealand.”